A father who denied his four-year-old cancer patient daughter a Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World has broken his silence and defended his decision.

William May initially refused
to sign off on the Make-A-Wish trip because he said she was in remission
and that the trips should go to children who are sicker than his
daughter.

But so many donations have poured in from around the world that the girl's mother and grandmother will be able to pay for the trip in August themselves and give the rest to charity.

Defensive: William May, the girl's father, has defended his decision to deny her the trip, as online donations topped $11,000 on Friday

McKenna May, here with her mother Whitney, spent two years of her short life fighting leukemia and she's now finally free and clear

William May today defended his decision to deny her the trip, as online donations
topped $12,000.

'The biggest reason I had a problem
with the trip is that my daughter is not terminally ill, she has a clean
bill of health, she no longer has cancer,' he told WNWO TV.

'And
I feel Make A Wish's money, and all the donations that have been made
to them, should go towards terminally ill children, children that won't
have the opportunity in life to experience things like Disney World.'

McKenna May, from Haskins, Ohio, was
granted $3,500 (£2,235) to fund a once-in-a-lifetime holiday to the
Florida theme park, after spending half her short life undergoing
agonising treatment for leukemia.

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But online donations surpassed the charity's gift on Friday, while more money was being collected at banks in northwest Ohio.

'We didn't do this to get rich,' the girl's grandmother, Lori Helppie, said on Friday. 'We did it to fulfill her dream, and people's hearts just opened up.'

She had the trip postponed twice while she was undergoing treatment
for leukemia. Her last treatment was about a month ago.

But the brave little girl was left devastated after her father refused to sign a consent
form allowing her to go.

Fighter: The brave little girl has been left devastated after her father refused to sign a consent form allowing her to go

Treatment: Since she was diagnosed with cancer in April 2010, McKenna has undergone 15 spinal taps, multiple chemotherapy treatments, and a series of steroid injects. She has been hospitalised numerous times

Since she was diagnosed with cancer in April 2010, McKenna has undergone 15 spinal taps, multiple chemotherapy treatments, and a series of steroid injects. She has been hospitalised numerous times.

She underwent her final treatment last month after showing signs of beating the disease, but won't won't be officially cancer-free for another five years.

To cheer her up during the painful
treatments, McKenna's mother Whitney Hughes and grandmother Lori Helppie
applied to the Make-A-Wish foundation.

Moved by her plight, the charity granted McKenna her wish and agreed to pay for the family to travel to Disney World in Florida.

Dream trip denied: May's father banned her from accepting a free trip to Disney World, because she's not dying of cancer

But before the trip could be booked, both parents had to sign a consent form. And William May refused.

Speaking to the Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribunenewspaper, he argued the gift was an improper use of donations, and
that handouts should be reserved for 'kids who only have six months to
live'.

Fund-raising: McKenna's mother and grandmother are now trying to raise the money so she can meet her hero, Mickey Mouse

Mrs Hughes is convinced her
ex-husband is trying to punish her after he was granted just visitation
rights to his daughter earlier this year.

And
Mr May admitted he is angry with his ex-wife and her mother, who he
claims are preventing him from seeing his daughter. He told the
Sentinel-Tribune: 'I wasn't allowed to be involved. It ticked me off.'

Ms
Hughes and Ms Hellpie have refused to give up hope they can still take
McKenna to Disney World and are attempting the raise the money
themselves, passing around collection jars in their local community.

Ms Helppie said: 'The important thing is to get her there.She loves Mickey Mouse. She loves Cinderella.'

Ms Hughes added: 'She's really excited. It's all she's talked about for the last three months.'

Charity chiefs are, meanwhile, bewildered by the row - having ruled McKenna was clearly deserving of the trip.

Susan McConnell, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish for Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, told the Sentinel-Tribune: 'The doctors are the ones who determine if she is qualified. She's been through a lot. What I really feel bad about is she is stuck in the middle.'